Dire

Rating: 3/10 (11 August 2013)

Hang on - am I losing it here? This is a tedious, bombastic and predictable slog to watch. How come the plaudits?
Let's be honest - the acting is wooden. The dialogue is embarrassing. The story is formulaic. The characters barely scrape into the second dimension. The music is intrusive, desperately trying to wring some emotion from scenes that are devoid of them, with characters who the audience has no empathy with. The effects are impressive. But there are films out there with impressive effects that also grip you with their narrative and convince with their performances. Some of them even move you.
Most affecting performance of the film - the little girl playing young Mako. And she's barely in it.
The premise feels like a mish-mash of various sources, blended together into something less than fresh.
The look is rather workaday - there's really nothing you haven't seen here before. It's a little bit Armageddon, a little bit Aliens, a little bit Battle Los Angeles
So it feels camp. Pastichey. Utterly forgettable. Cringe-making.